Surplus AR-15s to be retained by Winchester PD after council concerns

Winchester city council on Monday said the city's police department should hold on to five AR-15s it has in surplus. The guns shown here are not the specific guns owned by the department, but are of the same style.(Photo: George Frey, Getty Images)

WINCHESTER, Ind. – City leaders asked the Winchester Police Dept. on Monday to retain five surplus semi-automatic rifles, rather than have the department sell or destroy the firearms.

The recommendation by city council came after a brief discussion over what should be done with five AR-15s that have been in the police department's armory for several years.

The guns were previously carried by officers in specific situations, but were removed from service after newer models were purchased. It is unknown if the guns have ever been discharged in the line of duty, other than for training purposes.

Multiple members of council expressed concern about the guns being available to the public. An AR-15 was use in the deadly Parkland, Fla. school shooting this week where 17 people were killed, which Winchester Police Chief Richie Tucker noted this specifically during his remarks to council on Monday.

The department's surplus guns are often made available to Winchester officers who may have an interest in buying them for personal use; it is not clear if that was ever planned for these particular rifles. Tucker declined to comment on the matter when reached at his office Tuesday.

Tucker said during the meeting no local gun shops had an interest in buying the firearms from the department, either. Each, he said, is worth about $300, but he stated the market is "saturated" at this point and dealers are afraid they wouldn't be able to sell the inventory in a way that would help them make a profit.

The council also briefly entertained the idea of destroying the guns, before confirming they were still in good shape and are not defective.

Because the council recommended Winchester Police to keep the rifles, they are expected to remain where they've been — a room in the department headquarters — moving forward. While surplus, they will still be considered part of local law enforcement's inventory and can still be used in the event one of the active rifles is damaged or needs to be serviced.

Mayor Shon Byrum on Monday night, sitting in his office following the meeting, said he supported council's decision to not allow sale of the rifles to the public.

"They said let's hold on to them; let's not put them on the street ... let's not sell them to a gun shop then for the gun shop to sell them — neither to the general public nor law enforcement," he said. "They said, 'Just leave them locked up.' ... I agree with that."

Byrum said he supports the Second Amendment and himself has a concealed carry weapon permit, the rights for which he exercises.

He added, however, he doesn't want guns in unsafe hands. He said he grew up around firearms and learned how to handle them safely, but added he feels something must change, particularly when it comes to safety of children and schools.

"I'm not saying throw away the Second Amendment, but we have got to take this seriously," he said. "We can't have any more school shootings, we simply can't."

Byrum, who has four school-age children, said he is concerned by the number of shootings that have occurred in the United States, including the several that have already occurred in 2018.

Shaking his head, Byrum offered one last thought on the matter.

"It's normal for my children who are in elementary (school) to know that people can be killed at school," he said. "That's not right."